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LeBron James reportedly will miss NBA opening night because of injury
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- LeBron James reportedly will miss NBA opening night because of injury
Los Angeles Lakers star and Akron native LeBron James is entering his 23rd NBA season, but he will not be ready to go on opening night, according to reports.
Per reporting from The Athletic's Dan Woike , James will be sidelined for three to four weeks as he deals with sciatica on his right side.
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That timeline will force him to miss the Lakers 2025-26 regular season opener against Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Oct. 21.
According to the Cleveland Clinic , sciatica occurs "when irritation, inflammation, pinching or compression affect one or more nerves that run down your lower back and into your legs."
James' return to the court will be reevaluated after that three- to four-week timeline to see where he stands in his recovery. HoopsHype noted this will be the first time in his illustrious career that James will miss opening night. He was a perfect 22 for 22 previously.
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James, 40, will celebrate his 41st birthday in December.
The Akron native recently made headlines for teasing a "decision of all decisions" on social media , which turned out to be an ad for a new partnership with Hennessy .
The decision to tease what many felt could have been a retirement announcement to instead plug an ad received negative feedback from some fans and even prompted a Lakers fan to sue James in the aftermath .
James played in 70 of a possible 82 regular-season games for the Lakers a season ago while averaging 24.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds en route to yet another All-Star selection.
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James has shown little sign of slowing down despite celebrating his 40th birthday last year, but reports he'll miss time with sciatica show Father Time is slowly gaining on the all-time great.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: LeBron James reportedly injured, set to miss NBA opening night
